Pen & Sword Books

Images of War

Monograph on German Light Armoured Cars KFZ. 13/14

So, the title of this work states that’s it’s a monograph. For those who might be a wee bit vague on what exactly IS a monograph (as I was…), a monograph is defined as a “detailed, long form written work, usually published as a book, that focuses on a single specialized subject or a specific aspect of a subject. It is typically written by a single author, or a small group of subject matter experts”. So there it is…

In the early 1930’s the drastically downsized post - WWI German army determined that armored reconnaissance vehicles would be needed. They turned to the civilian automobile market, developing a light, all wheel drive vehicle based on the Adler Standard 6. These reconnaissance vehicles were fabricated by the Daimler- Benz company, with light armor and armed with a pedestal mounted 7.92mm machine gun. These cars, designated Sd. Kfz. 13  had a two men crew. A radio equipped version of this vehicle was also produced in lesser numbers, and designated as the Sd. Kfz.14. Both versions were produced between 1932 and 1935, and suffered from poor off road performance, and the armor was not very effective. They served in campaigns in Poland, France and the Low Countries, and Operation Barbarossa. By the end of 1941, most of these vehicles were severely damaged or destroyed, and survivors were pulled from front line service. 

Vital Statistics

Format - softcover, portrait format

Page Count - 206 pages

Size - 8.75” x 11.5”

Photos - black & white WWII period images

Tables / drawings / diagrams - technical and organizational tables, some maps

All text and photograph captions are in English

What’s between the covers?

Above - the book’s table of contents, laid out in a logical, chronological manner.

The book opens with a look at the post WWI German army, gutted by the Treaty of Versailles, and some of the interesting early armored cars in use such as the above seen massive Krupp-Daimler Sd. Kfz. 3.

This book is absolutely jammed full of interesting images of rarely seen inter-war German vehicles.

Please Note - the images contained in this volume are much better than what you see in my review. Most are generally crisp and clear, despite their age and the conditions existing when they were taken.

Above - the early efforts at armored cars / reconnaissance vehicles were interesting looking to say the least! Check out the “Panzerattrappe” top right. In contrast, the later Sd. Kfz. 13/14 looked absolutely modern, even for the early 1930’s.

This volume is well illustrated with informative tables and drawings. Above right, we see the evolutionary path from the Adler Standard 6 civilian passenger car through the Adler Kubelwagen / Adler Panzeratrappe radio vehicle to the Sd Kfz 13/14.

The above bottom left image shows just how small the Sd Kfz 13/14 really were. Pretty cramped space, even for a crew of just two.

The author has unearthed some quite nice images of these vehicles, which would be of assistance to anyone building the Bronco kits of the Sd Kfz 13/14. Above lower left is a nice drawing of the MG 13, later replaced by the MG 34.

The lower right image above shows why the Sd Kfz 13/14 was commonly referred to as “the bathtub”.

Above - The author has seamlessly integrated many informational tables and drawings throughout this book, adding value to it.

Above - a drawing showing the organization and equipment that made up a reconnaissance battalion in 1935. The drawings, maps, tables and charts that are included in this book make it a much more rounded, thorough reference work than just a simple pictorial study.

The author has not neglected to provide the reader with a great many fascinating images of the Sd Kfz 13/14 in action during their relatively short service career. The above images are from the short but fierce Polish campaign, where Polish anti-tank weapons took a heavy toll on these lightly armored reconnaissance vehicles.

Above - the Sd Kfz 13/14 fared slightly better in France and the Low Countries, due to better road conditions / networks, but still suffered significant losses. The author has selected many interesting images of these vehicles in action and post action.

Above - some good photos showing camouflage patterns on the vehicles.The author devotes the book’s concluding chapter to examining the colors and markings of these vehicles.

Above - detail images showing the tactical markings on the Sd Kfz 13/14 during its period of front line service, in Reichswehr, Wehrmacht, and even Kriegsmarine usage. What the Navy was doing with reconnaissance vehicles is an interesting story, covered in detail by the author.

Above - Finally, the volume closes with a pair of pages full of technical specifications on these interesting little vehicles.

Conclusions

I have reviewed other works from this author in the past, and have been rather impressed with his work. He does a quite thorough, complete job on the subjects of his works.

The authors text and photo caption work is uniformly good, being crisply written without being dry. He conveys a great deal of information in a “readable” manner. The photo captions are informative and provide good detail on what’s pictured.

I really liked the authors selection of images used in this work. They are generally crisp and clear, of decent size as most are near half page in size, and of good interest.

This work is a genuinely excellent look at lesser known, under appreciated early armored cars, whose usage in the early years of WWII provided quite valuable lessons to the German army.

Highly Recommended! 

Thanks to Casemate Books for the review copy

Reviewed by Chuck Aleshire, AMPS Chicagoland

AMPS 2nd Vice President, Midwest Region

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